Just
by HatsFromOslo
Summary: A lot of times you just know.


"Just… please put down the gun," she uttered desperately.

James knew that Nancy had done this a million times. He had read about it. He had seen it. He just knew it. Yet the fear that was spelled across her face as a psychotic woman pointed a gun at her struck him deep in his gut. He studied her red hair pulled into a ponytail to show her usually bright but now depressing blue eyes. Her FBI vest thrown to the side at the request of the psychopath. Her back pressed against a molding brick building, hands raised in the air. He resisted the urge to rush towards her, hold her, tell her everything was okay, kiss her.

"Ms. Elis, put down the gun," James told the woman as his pistol shifted in his hands.

"I am not going down for this! I didn't do anything!" The ragged woman shouted back. Her snarled brown hair flew around her as the fierce wind revealed her screaming green eyes.

"You killed eight innocent men and made their daughters watch," Nancy sadly told her as her surrendering hands slightly shook in the air.

The frantic woman stood in silence for a second. She tilted her head to the side and let loose a horrifying smirk.

"Tell me, Agent Drew," she drawled out. "Do you love someone?"

"Yes," Nancy put simply. She stole a quick scared glance at her partner that made James' heart drop.

"Nancy," James said softly.

"Parker, I know what I'm doing," she told him with a confident look.

"Yes, _James Parker_!" the angered woman whipped her head around and screamed as her eyes bore into his skull. "She _knows _what she's doing!"

She flipped her head back to the object of her question. "So, _Nancy_. You were going to answer my question."

"I already did."

"_That wasn't good enough!_" She flipped but settled herself down again. "Who is this whom you love so much?"

"My family, my friends," Nancy began.

"Who specifically?" her fingers twitched.

"My father-"

"His name?"

"Carson."

"Ahh. Go on," she let loose a wicked smile.

"My best friends, Bess and George."

"You have a guy as your best friend?" The woman asked curiously.

"Her real name is Georgia."

"Hmm."

"Hannah, my housekeeper when I was a child."

"You love your housekeeper?"

"She's like a mother to me."

"No mother?"

"Died when I was three," Nancy stated sadly.

"Anyone else?"

She hesitated but finally choked out, "my fiancé."

James felt his heart settle at his feet. He had no idea. She didn't wear a ring, but he wouldn't either with this job. His eyes stung. He felt so stupid. He had flirted with her openly, protected her so he could be her hero. _Oh God_, he thought.

"Oooh! We have a man! Name?" The woman squealed.

"Ned."

"How did you meet?" The woman teased her.

"We went to school together since middle school."

"High school sweethearts?"

Nancy solemnly nodded.

"_How adorable!_ Where does he work?"

"He's a lawyer."

"Awesome. When are you getting married?"

"May 21st."

"Only a month away!" The woman squealed again. She dropped her tone to a sarcastic seriousness, "getting cold feet?"

Nancy just stared at her.

"Tell me, Nancy. Have you and Ned ever fought?"

"As much as the next couple."

"_Don't lie to me, bitch!"_

Nancy took a deep breath and looked into the woman's eyes.

"We fought a lot in college. He went to one college, I went to another. He was…" She trailed off and took a breath, "a super jock, girls falling at his feet. I-"

"He_ cheated_ on you?"

"He _never_ cheated on me. But they drove a wedge between us. Jealousy, suspicion. A lot of the time it was too much. We broke up, got back together, broke up, and got back together. It was a continuous cycle. Then in his sophomore year, my freshman, we had a huge fight. A lot…" She took another breath, "of nasty stuff was said. We broke up. But the next year we met when I was doing a favor for the dean of the college and after a few weeks we got back together."

"And you've been together ever since?" Sarcastic tears welling up in the woman's eyes.

"Yeah," Nancy answered with a dead serious tone in her voice.

"Has he ever hit you?"

"No."

"Cheated on you?"

"No."

"Will he ever leave you?"

"No," Nancy said with more emphasis than the others.

"Oh, see. Here is where you are wrong, agent. They're all bastards, every single one of them. They will leave you, cheat on you, hit you. The worthless piece of scum will make you wish you were never born. And you know what? They will do it in front of your children. In front of the children you created with him. The ones you loved together for, the ones you loved unconditionally, the ones you would do anything for."

"No, Jennifer," Nancy's eyes began to glaze over with tears. "This is where you are wrong. Your husband was a cheating son-of-a-bitch high on crack every moment of his life. He beat you and let Melanie watch before he killed your daughter and let you watch," she darted a quick glance up at James before taking a step forward and continuing, aware of her partner's creeping presence behind the woman.

"I know that my father loved my mother up until the second she died. I know that my friend's boyfriend loves her as much as he can. Every single damn time we go to lunch and she can't stop talking about him, I know that they are head-over-heels in love with each other and he would do nothing, _nothing_ to hurt her ever. I know that James loves his wife," James sucked in a tight breath.

"I know that he loves her so much that when he calls her after every run in with people like you he tells her how much he loves her and will swallow that dinner tonight like it came from God himself. And I know that my fiancé loves me more than the air he breathes. After every damn case that takes me away from him, he's just so happy that I'm safe he would kneel at the feet of Saddam Hussein's ghost to get his autograph if I wanted it. I know that after he says 'I do' under the gorgeous arch we will wed under the only thing he will be thinking about is how lucky he is to have me. I know that after every apology he says after something that wasn't his fault he means it, and I know every time we got back together in college he was the happiest man on Earth and he promised himself every second of everyday that he would never let me go again. I know that he loves me more than everything. I know we will _never _hit me,_ never_ cheat on me, and never,_ ever_ leave me."

In a swift motion James tackled the woman and swatted at her gun. It fell to the cold concrete and Nancy rushed to get it, turning it on the handcuffed woman.

"We need backup at 1442 Lake Street, in the ally, suspect in custody," James said into his vest as he gazed in amazement at the breathless Nancy.

* * *

><p>"Nonsense, I'm picking you up."<p>

"Leah, please. I'm fine."

"I don't care! I'm already in the car. See you in a few moments!" Leah said with taunting notes in her voice.

"Leah!" It was too late.

James flipped his phone shut with a sigh as he glanced across his desk to Nancy, brushing off their supervisor with a smile.

"I'll call my friend to pick me up, alright?" She said with a hint of irritation.

With a firm nod in response, the serious supervisor walked off as Nancy reached for her phone. After sliding her finger over the surface a few times she answered her phone with tenderness, not aware of James intently listening.

"Hey. Taxer wants someone to drive me home."

She waited a few seconds and smiled, "ugh, yeah."

"Thanks.

"Likewise, bye."

She tipped her body back in a sigh and threw her phone on the desk.

"Someone also insisting on picking you up?"

Nancy lifted her head and smiled at James.

"Yeah," she sounded distant.

"Why don't you tell anyone you're engaged?" James asked after a short pause.

Nancy studied him for a second. James could feel every inch of where her eyes lingered, his slicked black hair fell to the side. His green eyes watched her with curiosity. She made sure that no one was around before she smiled at him.

"When I was younger- last year of college- I was helping a friend with trying to find out who attacked her friend. The guy was a total psychopath," her hands flew in the air as if that statement was no big deal. "He attacked me and interrogated me. He wouldn't tell him anything so he went after Ned. He found a gun and held him a gunpoint so I would talk. I did, he shot Ned in the shoulder. He's all fine now; not even a scar, but it scared the hell out of us. We keep our professional and personal lives separate. I don't wear my ring to work, I make sure that if my name or Ned's name is ever on the internet or TV or newspaper, they are never related. I don't say 'I love you' when I'm on the phone in public and I never talk about my personal life," she ended with a faint smile.

"That sounds like hell," James replied, twisting his gold wedding ring on his finger.

"It's better than losing him," she said softly.

* * *

><p>"James!" Leah rushed toward her husband and engulfed him in a hug. Her shoulder length light brown hair bobbed around her plump face and her loose clothes flapped around her in the wind.<p>

"Are you alright?" She asked franticly, feeling his forehead and cheeks for a fever.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," he laughed and shrugged off his overprotective wife.

"Let's go home," she smiled with her violet eyes.

James glanced over her shoulder at Nancy walking out of the towering building, coat and cell phone in her hands.

"Drew, you're gonna be alright?" He asked with concern.

She smiled and looked off of James' shoulder, "just dandy."

James followed her gaze to a black Audi that pulled up next to her. She flashed a brilliant smile to the driver.

His heart dropped again and he even felt Leah's warm breath stop as the man stepped out. He was incredibly tall; almost a head length over James and his thick chocolate hair lazily fell over his face. His muscular frame was outlined by the glowing building as he stepped towards Nancy. His deep brown eyes sparkled at the sight of her, Nancy's own eyes dancing in response. He embraced her into a loving hug, a bright smile plastered over his face.

"You okay?" He breathed into her hair.

"Yeah," she quietly responded, melting into her fiancé.

He pulled away and looked at her, concern filled his eyes. Nancy leaned on her tippy toes into him, pulling his collar down for a kiss. Ned pulled away with urgency, darting a look to James and Leah.

"Nancy," he whispered.

"It's alright," she whispered into his chest and pulled him back down. She ran her fingers though his thick hair as he clung to her like if she was in his arms, she would never leave.

"C'mon. Let's go home," James told his wife as they walked hand in hand to her car, listening to the laughing couple hold onto each other in passionate desperation behind them.

_Title from what Microsoft Office gave it and I thought it fit. It's the first word of the story, in the description, and justice is a small theme. _

_Story created from my love of seeing relationships from the outside (just like my other story _Brilliant_)._

_Thanks for reading!_


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